The Effects of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY HMPYC80 ASSIGNMENT 02-03 RESEARCH PROPOSAL TITLE: THE EFFECTS OF MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION TRAINING ON ADOLESCENT SELF-AWARENESS AND THE REDUCTION OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND STRESS. AUTHOR: 5888743 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY HMPYC80 ASSIGNMENT 02-03 RESEARCH PROPOSAL TITLE: THE EFFECTS OF MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION TRAINING ON ADOLESCENT SELF-AWARENESS AND THE REDUCTION OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND STRESS. AUTHOR: 5888743 Mr P Smith The ANIKA Foundation 234 West Highland Drive Newport 2843 Australia 1 May 2011 Dear Sir, Re: Research Proposal: THE EFFECTS OF MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION TRAINING ON ADOLESCENT SELF-AWARENESS AND THE REDUCTION OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND STRESS. I am currently studying Psychology Honour’s at the University of South Africa. I am a school counsellor at a private school in Sydney where I work with children from Year K through to year 12. I have a keen interest in Adolescent mental health and suicide prevention.The Department of Mental Health at the World Health Organisation states that: â€Å"WHO figures clearly show that by 2030 depression will be the single biggest burden of care on our health care system, exceeding cardio vascular disease and obesity†. It is becoming increasingly more urgent to look at preventative strategies to reduce the number of young people presenting with depression, anxiety and stress. I understand that the ANIKA Foundation was set up in response to the tragic death by suicide of your daughter Anika.The purpose of foundation is to support and promote the prevention of anxiety and depression in young people. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction training has been shown to develop the capacity to: †¢Consciously act and respond with awareness and clarity rather than react out of a habitual pattern †¢Bring greater concentration and focus to daily activities †¢Monitor levels of stress and distress, and take effective steps to address them †¢Positi vely take action to renew your energy – physically, emotionally and mentally.It therefore seemed appropriate to contact you with information about my proposed research topic to see if you would be interested in this new area of prevention. I look forward to hearing from you soon Yours Sincerely 5888743 Psychology Honours student and school counsellor. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY HMPYC80 ASSIGNMENT 02-03 RESEARCH PROPOSAL TITLE: THE EFFECTS OF MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION TRAINING ON ADOLESCENT SELF-AWARENESS AND THE REDUCTION OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND STRESS. AUTHOR: 5888743 IntroductionMy experience as a School Counsellor along with current research coming out of the World Health organization indicates that by 2030 depression will be the single biggest burden of care on our health care system, exceeding cardio vascular disease and obesity. It is becoming increasingly more urgent to look at preventative strategies to reduce the number of young people presenting with depressio n, anxiety and stress. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is part of an exciting new field in psychology that combines ancient wisdom with modern day knowledge. The associated field ofPositive Psychology looks not only at the elimination of negative mental states but also at ways in which we can understand how people grow and flourish. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction training has been shown to develop the capacity to: †¢Consciously act and respond with awareness and clarity rather than react out of a habitual pattern †¢Bring greater concentration and focus to daily activities †¢Monitor levels of stress and distress, and take effective steps to address them †¢Positively take action to renew your energy – physically, emotionally and mentally.MBSR strategies based on the ancient Buddhist practice of mindfulness and meditation, seek to give people the tools to develop self-awareness in order to be able to identify the different emotions that present themselves during our lifetime. And then respond to those emotions is a way that is constructive rather than destructive. The way that we think and feel about things profoundly affects the way we act in the world, so it is important to be able to recognize the feelings and thoughts that arise habitually in our lives. Research Problem A literature review indicates that MBSR has been researched quiet extensively in the medical field.The literature shows very promising results with researchers finding significant reductions in stress, anxiety and depression after participants completed MBSR training. 1,2,3, In another study, normal healthy working adults who participated in Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) training, showed improvement in behavioural, psychological, and physiological outcomes measured. This study assessed the effects of a shortened (low-dose [ld]) work-site MBSR intervention (MBSR-ld) on indicators of stress in healthy working adults to determine if results sim ilar to those obtained in traditional MBSR could be demonstrated.Participants were randomized into MBSR-ld and wait-list control groups. Self-reported perceived stress, sleep quality, and mindfulness were measured at the beginning and end of the 6-week intervention. Salivary cortical was assessed weekly. Significant reductions in perceived stress (p = . 0025) and increases in mindfulness (p = . 0149) were obtained for only the MBSR-ld group (n = 22). Scores on the global measure of sleep improved for the MBSR-ld group (p = . 0018) as well as for the control group (p = . 0072; n = 20). There is however at this time no literature available on the effects of teaching MBSR to adolescents, in a school setting as part of the PDHPE curriculum. This research may unlock the door to an exciting field of preventative psychology in youth mental health. What we consider stressful or what causes us to feel ‘mad’, ‘bad’ or ‘sad’ varies from one person to anot her. But any negative state can have a profound effect on the way we function in our day-to-day lives. Left unacknowledged or untreated it can develop into Stress, Anxiety or Depression.Very simply one of the first impacts of practicing mindfulness can be the capacity to move out of an aroused, activated, stressed state into a calmer, reflective more regulated state. This relaxed state – called the parasympathetic state shows in responses such as slowing down of the heart rate, increased expiration, relaxation of the muscles, increased digestive activity and recuperation and rest. Many of us spend time in our sympathetic branch of our nervous system that prepares us for active engagement. It is associated with emotions such as anger, rage and fear as well as joy, excitement and interest.This is commonly known as the fight or flight response, our hard wiring for survival. However ongoing and excessive fight/flight response that is not regulated or modulated can lead to increas ed cortisol levels creating stress and distress. By cultivating in the students an innate capacity to ‘pay attention’ on purpose, in the present moment in a non-judgmental way, we can hopefully decrease overall levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Research Design The study will include both qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the efficacy of the MBSR program.The study will include 42 year 9 students, aged 14 -15 years. They will participate in an 8 week program where they will learn techniques of mindfulness and meditation. The course will be taught in conjunction with the personal health and development curriculum (PDHPE). The quantitative part of the research includes two surveys. The surveys will be administered before the training begins, at the completion of the course and then again 6 months later. This methodology is useful as it quantifies variables by making them empirically observable, and makes replication and retesting plausible.Survey 1: The DASS (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Questionnaire) developed by Peter Lovibond from the University of New South Wales. The DASS is a set of three self-report scales designed to measure the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. The DASS was constructed not merely as another set of scales to measure conventionally defined emotional states, but to further the process of defining, understanding, and measuring the ubiquitous and clinically significant emotional states usually described as depression, anxiety and stress.The DASS should thus meet the requirements of both researchers and scientist-professional clinicians. 5 Survey 2: The Self-Assessment Questionnaire: The MAAS (Mindfulness Awareness Attention Scale) is a 15-item scale designed to assess a core characteristic of dispositional mindfulness, namely, open or receptive awareness of and attention to what is taking place in the present. The scale shows strong psychometric properties and has been validated w ith college, community, and cancer patient samples.Correlational, quasi-experimental, and laboratory studies have shown that the MAAS taps a unique quality of consciousness that is related to, and predictive of, a variety of self-regulation and well-being constructs. The measure takes 10 minutes or less to complete. 6 Both surveys will be administered electronically and the student response will be anonymous. Although the data gathered will be intra-personal in nature, the trends being assessed will be more general. The data will be analysed electronically and will give me and overall level of the participating student’s self-awareness, depression, anxiety and stress.This will be compared to the surveys conducted at the end of the 8 weeks as well as those in 6 months’ time. The qualitative aspect of the research will be the weekly small discussion groups. As the students move through the training they will have opportunity to give feedback through semi structured inter views. The qualitative information gathered will give me evidence of trends and patterns emerging. I will rely primarily on interviews and observations. â€Å"the analyses produced by qualitative researchers most often are narratives and are based on words used by informants to describe their life experiences. Royce, 2004. Pg 237) In terms of sampling, it would be ideal if I could have a control group in which I could randomly assign half of the group, however unless the control group could have the opportunity to participate in the training at a later stage, this would in fact be unethical and unfair. Given the constraints of a school curriculum, this would also be very difficult. If the initial results coming out of the pilot program were promising then it would be prudent to run the program again with a control group. This would enhance the reliability and validity of the initial results.Data Analysis The study will use qualitative and quantitative research methodology. Creswell (1998, pg 15) defines qualitative research as â€Å"an inquiry process of understanding based on distinct methodological traditions of inquiry that explore a social or human problem. The researcher builds a complex holistic picture, analyses words, reports detailed views of informants and conducts the study in a natural setting. † The small weekly discussion groups will give me an opportunity to provide detailed and dynamic feedback on both individual and group process.Terre Blanche, Kelly and Durrheim (2006, pg 273-274) describe this as interpretative research, interested in experiences, feelings and meaning. The interviews will be semi structured, and developed according to data collected from the previous week and current literature. All interviews will be transcribed. The intention behind the analysis of the transcripts will be to extract a common narrative There are no costs associated with my research at this time. Ethics and expected Outcomes The children will be give n permission slips and consent forms to take home to be signed by their parents.At all times the welfare of the children will be monitored and they will have access to the support of the school counsellor and the PDHPE staff. All participants will be given a letter explaining the idea behind the program. The online surveys will be anonymous and data transcribed from the semi structured interviews will be anonymous and made available to the students should they wish to see the transcripts. The students will be re-surveyed in 6 months’ time to assess whether the program has had sustainable effects. There are expected short term and long term outcomes for this research.In the short term we hope that the children will learn to meditate and make meditation and mindfulness part of their everyday routine. Obviously we hope they will also reach the goals they set for themselves on a physical level. In the long term we are hoping that the skill that they learn during this 8 week progr am will be the inoculation and thereby increased resilience that they will need for the upcoming stress associated with their HSC (Matric), and all of the other life stressors going forward. Literature Review 1.Impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on sleep, mood, stress and fatigue symptoms in cancer outpatients: Linda E. Carlson and Sheila N. Garland 2. A qualitative study of self-perceived effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in a psychosocial oncology setting: Michael J. Mackenzie1, Linda E. Carlson1,2,*, Marleny Munoz1, Michael Speca1,2 Article first published online 28 NOV 2006 3. Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for survivors of breast cancer: Cecile A. Lengacher1, Versie Johnson-Mallard1, Janice Post-White2, Manolete S. Moscoso1, Paul B.Jacobsen3, Thomas W. Klein4, Raymond H. Widen4,5, Shirley G. Fitzgerald1, Melissa M. Shelton1, Michelle Barta1, Matthew Goodman6, Charles E. Cox3,4, Kevin E. Kip1,* Article first published online: 20 FEB 2009ne: 28 NOV 2006 4. Effects of Low-Dose Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR-ld) on Working Adults: Maryanna D. Klatt, PhD. College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, klatt. [email  protected] eduJanet Buckworth, PhD. College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus William B. Malarkey, MD. College of Medicine, the Ohio State University, Columbus Scales 5. Lovibond, S. H. Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. (2nd. Ed. ) Sydney: Psychology Foundation. ISBN 7334-1423-0. Lovibond, P. F. & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 335-343. 6. Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) Kirk Warren Brown, Ph. D. & Richard M. Ryan, Ph. D. References 1. Cresswell, J. W. (1998) Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among 5 traditions. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publishers 2. Kelly, K. 2006) From encounter to text: collecting data in qualitative research. In Terre Blance, M. , & Durrheim,K. , Painter, D. (Eds), Research in Practise (Second Edition). Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press. 3. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduciton/Mindfulness Based Cognitive therapy Course Book. Open Ground Training and Consultancy. Sydney, Australia 4. Royse, D. (2004) Qualitative Research from Research Methods in Social Work, Fourth Edition, Brookes/Cole-Thomson Learning, Pacific Grove, CA, USA. 5. Terre Blance, M. , & Durrheim,K. , Painter, D. (Eds), Research in Practise (Second Edition). Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press.

Tata Ace

Marketing StatergyX MBA 18 – Vashi Core IIHerat Mehta Henry Ford said that customers could get cars of any color as long as it was black, while Tata Motors went to customers before designing Ace and asked them about the price and features that they wanted. Compare and contrast between these two approaches? 1. Both the cases are related to Automobile industries. Mr. Ford is talking about passenger cars & tata is talking about commercial vehicles. Main points can be argued as follows. Ford Cars| Tata Ace| Passenger Vehicles| SCV| Already made a huge market & business| Trying to make a new segment in the business| Going for Mass production| Product aimed at saving the entire business. | Almost monopoly business as 50 % of the requirement was fulfilled by Ford| Looking for the new customer or converting customers for their product. | Assembly line production planned. | Product for the people & by the people concept. | Production can be faster as black is the fastest drying colour| Not clear about the achievable sales from the target 30,000 units per year. Only colour becomes constraint for the prospective buyer. | The entire design concept is yet to be proved. | To summarise, both the approaches look fine at their own stages. Identify two activities done by Tata Motors while applying the marketing concept for developing Ace? 2. Implemented cross – functional teams which used 3P concept. (Production, preparation process) Extensive market study considering all possible factors like political, growth, devel opment and also customer need and requirements. Product was designed as the product from the customer, for the customer and designed it as a vehicle to service the last mile distribution. What are the different types of benefits or gratifications that consumers can draw from a product or a service? Discuss with respect to the case? 3. The Benefits that the customers can take from Tata Ace: * Better cost per ton for transportation. * Better fuel efficiency. * Safety * Durability * Weather proofing for the driver. * Additional payload. * Higher status in the community. * Personal motivation to start own business. Better manoeuvrability, can travel on all roads without restrictions, Can travel longer distance at a stretch and can reach smallest of the lanes or areas. * Self satisfaction of having or driving a small truck. What marketing lessons did you learn from the entire case study related to marketing? 4. Following points are very important for marketing a product * It is very important to involve marketing concepts while or prio r to design of a product. * Development of any product should involve all marketing factors for the success of the product. It is important to consider economical situations while doing marketing research. * Same marketing concepts may not work every time for different products or for similar products. * It is must to involve (consider) end users while designing a product. * It is also important to make a proper market segmentation and define target market for any product. * Emotional consideration while defining marketing strategy is very important. * To reach mass in India, marketing should be done in all languages & also in local media. The product should be supported strongly by local availability and after sales service. * It is important to avoid finance related issues of the prospective customers. marketing initiatives you would like to suggest for the future of Tata Ace? 5. Tata should take following Initiatives: * Give more models with different options like, powerful engin e, air-conditioning, option of more colours and body size. * Tata should target further into business specific models. * Reinforce service centres with educational drive & free services. Should make Ace at different geographical plats so that the supply is faster and cheaper. * Tata should launch a higher capacity version on the same platform again naming Ace + or equivalent. * To conduct a survey on the parts which are most unreliable & work on them. * To reduce cost of parts & make them easily available so that the duplication market can be avoided. * A new & fresh team to work on future actions required & again go back to the customers for further input. (This time should go to existing customer showing the commitment from the company)

What Brought to the French Revolution

Loreen Jill Ramirez Catubay 12 September 2010 HSS1C. 01 Miss. Erickson FRENCH REVOLUTION DBQ â€Å"The French Revolution. † What pops up in your head? Probably a plethora of ideas. Images of riots, nobles, monarchy and such. So many mistakes and so many achievements has come out of the French Revolution. Many failed policies, laws and many inspirational and influential ideas has come of the French Revolution. The important causes of the French Revolution has changed France.The French Revolution had many causes which lead to the outbreak of the revolution such as heavy taxes, extreme poverty and the ideas of the Enlightenment. During Arthur Young’s travel through France from 1787 to 1789 he stated â€Å"There is an injustice levying on the amount of each person must pay† (Document 1). One Cause that brought of the French Revolution is the inequality of the levy and taxes on the among the 3 estates. The first estate which is the body of all people ordained for reli gious duties most commonly in the Christian Church was called the â€Å"Clergy†.The Clery had no taxes on them but they, The Clergy could collect tithes or taxes from people who are living on churches land. The Clergy owned 10% of the countries land but shockingly the Clergy consist of 1% of the countries population. The second estate which is known as belonging to a hereditary class with high social or political status is called the â€Å"Nobles†. The Nobles had very few taxes on them while they collected taxes and rents from peasants while the peasants worked for both higher classes, the first estates and the second estate.The second estate, Nobles consisted of only 2% of the population but owned 35% of the countries land. Last but not least, This brings us to the third estate of peasants. Peasants are either Middles class, peasants or city workers. These people consisted of 97% of the countries population. They owned only 55% of the land. The third estate was treate d very unfairly in both land and taxes. Peasants earned the least but paid the most taxes. This made them very mad about the injustice of the heavy levying as stated in the quote.During the Arthur Young’s stay in France he has observed a lot of things about France as a country. Arthur Young stated on September 5,1788 that, â€Å"The poor people seem very poor indeed. The children are terribly ragged† (Document 1). Due to the heavy taxes on the peasants who work the longest and hardest jobs yet earn the least they had very little money lift for themselves and their families. Arthur Young also noticed that , â€Å"The price of bread has risen above the people’s ability to pay†.The people were so poor that they did not even have enough money to buy bread for themselves to eat while the people in the first and second estate were eating steaks, cakes and many luxurious foods. This situation of unfairness and inequality made the peasants anger towards the other estates and the monarchy grow. Historian Albert Mathiez claims that leadership fell into the middle class in which he stated that, â€Å"The middle class†¦.. was sensitive to their inferior legal position. The Revolution came from them-the middle class.They were just beginning to learn to read† (Document 4). Through this the middle class gained knowledge and ideas of the Enlightenment. They became philosophers. They started to believe and realized many things. Voltaire believed in freedom of speech but gone thrown in jail for making fun of a rich baron. This made the rest of the citizens to wonder about what they could say and why weren’t they allowed to talk about whatever they wanted?. John Locke was a believer of natural rights from birth and is famous for his writings on rights of life, liberty and property.His writings made people have an â€Å"oh yeah! why NOT?! † moment and questioned their rights and the other estates rights deciding that this was unfair and unjust. These people started to believe and agree with what these philosophers thought than what the king or the clergy thought. The 3 situations that helped caused the revolution. Heavy taxes were unjust as the peasants who earned the least, paid the most taxes while the other estates lived a luxurious life. The extreme famine which of left the peasants stomach digesting in nothing but anger towards the onarchy while the higher estates had tea parties and buffets and ideas of the Enlightenment which opened the eyes of many others about how much unfairness, inequality and injustice they have been treated with and that this was not tolerable as they philosophers encouraged them for they believed that everyone should have rights, liberty and freedom. The citizens years of suffering, inequality, injustice, unfairness and anger were the causes that had lead to the French Revolution.

Chinese negotiation style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Chinese negotiation style - Essay Example Coping with cultural differences was ranked as the first concern among business people. Other challenges included international trade dispute affecting business partners and intellectual property issues. 'Although the international business community has made great strides in understanding China's tradition, it is still important to be sensitive to the issues raised by cultural differences.' Most westerners, when preparing a business trip to China arm themselves with "a handy, one-page list of etiquette how to's, carry a boatload of business cards and bring their own interpreters", that's what Chinese tipsters say. However, such advice wont sustain the kind of prolonged year in, year out associations that Chinese and western business people achieve. In fact, breakdowns between foreigners and Chinese business people happen time after time. The main cause of failure is that of the westerners, to understand the much broader context of Chinese culture and values, a problem that too often leaves western negotiators both confused and flailing. (Lin 2003) The cultural influences outlined on the PowerPoint will give a clearly defined set of elements that underpin the Chinese negotiating style. Many foreigners often find these elements as confusing, but to ignore them at any time during the negotiation process, the deal will easily fall apart. (Graham 2003) These are in order of most important: 1. Guanxi (Personal Connections) The Chinese place a premium on individual's social capital with their group of friends, relatives, and close associates. 2. Zhongjian Ren (The Mediator) Business deals for Westerners in China don't have a chance with the zhongjian ren, the intermediary. In Australia, we tend to trust others until or unless we're given reason not to. In China, suspicion and distrust characterize all meetings with strangers. 3. Shehui Dengji (Social Status) The causal style of communication in Australia, such as "You can just call me Ben" does not play well in a country where the Confucian values of obedience and deference to one's superiors remain strong. The formality goes much deeper, however - profound so, to many Westerners. 4. Renji Hexie (Interpersonal Harmony) The Chinese sayings, "A man without a smile should not open a shop," and "Sweet temper and friendliness produce money," speak volumes about the importance of harmonious relations between business partners. 5. Zhengti Guannian (Holistic Thinking) The Chinese think in terms of the whole, while Australians think sequentially and individualistically, breaking up complex negotiation tasks into a series of small issues: price, quantity, warranty, delivery and so forth. Chinese negotiators tend to talk about those issues all at once. 6. Jiejian (Thrift) China's long history of economic and political instability has taught its people to save their money, a practise known as Jiejian. Chinese business negotiators will try to save money through a lot of bargaining over price -

Principles of Adult Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Principles of Adult Education - Essay Example Fron this discussion it is clear that  the focus is on the individual, and particularly that person’s conscious, rational activities of perceiving, interpreting, categorising and storing knowledge. Basically it depends upon the capabilities of an individual as to how he perceives learning. Schemata theorists, for example, suggest that as learners we first acquire new information, interpret it according to our previous experiences, then evaluate and remember concepts using our existing mental schemata or categories, and restructure our concepts and organising schemata as we are challenged by new experiences.This paper highlights that  in the everyday process of ‘meaning-making’ and problem solving, reflective theories explain that pupil learn procedural knowledge (how to do things or solve problems) and propositional knowledge (what things mean) through reflecting on experiences. But in critical reflection people question how they framed the problem in the firs t place. Even if no apparent problems exist, the thoughtful practitioner questions situations, asking why things are the way they are, why events unfold in the way they do.  One problem with explaining adult learning as a straightforward matter of individuals reflecting carefully and even critically on their experiences is that we are embedded so thoroughly in our cultures that we may not be able to distance our thinking from our own experiences.

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Case Study Example Operating managers in SYSCO have benefited from the market-driven HR approach through developing strategies as per the information retrieved from the surveys conducted by the Virtual Resource Center (VRC). This in turn, facilitated the administration and operations in the regional branches. HR drew information from the VRC. SYSCO made use of the strategies devised by the HR. The strategies resulted in an increase in safety that in turn, lowered accident rates and hence, the number of claims of workers’ compensation. Such HR changes could be purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and development and implementation of safety programs. Added safety on the site reduces number of accidents and accordingly, the workers’ compensation claims. Employee turnover rate could be increased by increasing the compensation for night work, provision of PPE, food and transport, and sufficient rest in the day time. HR could have devised a quality improvement and management program that would increase customer satisfaction because of good quality of

Subway Operating Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Subway Operating Environment - Essay Example Latest Subway restaurants remain coming into existence throughout. The franchise series has recruited excess of 150,000 individuals. The restaurant provides its consumers with several various types of fresh submarines sandwiches in addition known as â€Å"subs†. Consumers all the moment make choices on the way they need their sandwiches to remain served (Griffin, 2012). Subway’s promotion remains founded on freshness. The slogan â€Å"Eat Fresh† informs that Subway series makes use of simply fresh scorched bread and fish constituents. Subway faces very stiff competition from other businesses in the same field like McDonald’s, Burger King and Sunset Boulevard. There existed more than 20 Subways in the late 1990s in Denmark; however, ten years back they vacated the Danish market. During 2009, Subway made efforts to struggle for the Danish market once more. At the start of February, they re-launched Subway in two towns, in Sonderborg and Aalborg. The Subway s eries faces stiff competition in Danish market from key competitors such as the Danish series and Sunset Boulevard. During the time the Subway was removing their restaurants from the Danish Sunset Boulevard purchased three of their divisions (Griffin, 2012). 2.0 Environmental analysis 2.2. Economic factors- They have an influence on all enterprises, countrywide and internationally. Economic elements influence the buying capacity of the consumers and the organization’s cost of capital. It constitutes regions such as the exchange rates, economic development and inflation frequency (Dubofsky, 1968). In the subway, the factors are key help the management to understand the economic growth of the restaurant. 2.3. Social factors- These factors constitute population reforms. There are several elements that influence people’s lifestyle because people stay in a community. A few key factors include household, religion, learning system and positionality (Boyer & Verma, 2010). Demo graphic development rate, age spread and jobs motives remain all incorporated in social factors. Within the restaurant, these factors are critical as they help in planning for the meals based on the population, gender and age discrimination. This ultimately helps in planning for the meals.

OSHA Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

OSHA Standards - Essay Example This can be by considering chemical appearance and odor among others. Measures for protection should also be dealt with together with necessary emergency procedures and equipments to use. Labeling system should also be clear for all to understand. In case an employee is highly exposed to hazardous chemicals like lead, the employer should perform a medical check to ascertain the extent of exposure whereby the results should be availed within 15 days after their receipt (OSHA, 2011). The employer in case the levels exceed exposure limit should initiate measures to reduce the levels of lead for concentration of around 30 ug/m(3). Lead is a substance that is quite hazardous and training in the Lead Standard offers good information that enables employees and employers to handle overexposure to the Action Level. References OSHA (2011). Toxic and hazardous substances. Retrieved 25 Jan. 2011 from, http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p id=10030 OSHA (2011). Hazard communication. Retrieved 25 Jan. 2011 from, http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p id=10099

Building a Catupult Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Building a Catupult - Research Paper Example Range : The range is the distance covered by the ball after launch. The maximum range for parabolic path which the ball covers can be obtained at an angle of 45Â °. The horizontal distance from the point of launch to the point where the ball falls gives the range. 2. Trajectory : It is the path covered the ball, from the catapult after the launch the trajectory of the ball is parabolic. 3. Velocity : The rate of change of displacement is termed as the velocity. For a parabolic path the velocity of ball will be taken as the horizontal and vertical component of velocity at different points. 4. Newton’s three laws are applied in the working of the catapult. The first law states an object continues to remain in its state of rest or motion until and unless an external force is applied. The ball starts motion only after the sling or in our catapult the throwing arm is pressed and released and it stops where the forces due to gravity, air resistance etc. stop the ball. Second law st ates that force is directly proportion to the acceleration of the body and acceleration is inversely proportional to the mass, increasing the mass of projectile or ball will decrease acceleration and force required will increase. Third law states that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, the ball accelerates towards earth, the earth also accelerates due to the ball but the acceleration of earth due to ball is so negligible that it does not have any effect. Future engineering: The length of the arm and the overall size can be adjusted proportionately according to the range required to cover. Apart from this depending on the mass of the projectile that has to be thrown the type of material can be selected that withstands the load. May be more of metal than wood next time I rebuild the catapult. This was scope for building advanced catapults according to our range requirements. For more projects in future I would begin with a study of the history of design of the pa rticular project I choose. I’ll then choose the most appropriate kind of design that suits my requirements. After the necessary mathematical calculations according to the conditions and requirements will start with a rough design .The model can be prepared and tested. Changes will be made accordingly as per the results required till we reach close the desired results. Working in team is always efficient than working individually. The best abilities of everyone in the team come together to give good results .Working with a partner enabled to overcome my areas of weakness and we were able to complement each other’s specialisation. Also operating the model that is the catapult in our current project is not possible to handle alone. Once the catapult is fixed to the launching position it is necessary for someone to check the barrier so that the arm doesn’t slip while the other person launches the ball. Then to keep the record of the range ( i.e. the point where the ball falls and the time it takes) someone has to be there to keep a check. Teamwork was also enjoying and less stressful as the partners always encouraged and monitored continuously each other’s mistakes. The project work has been really interesting as the theoretical concepts became clear as we learned to apply them. This also encourages to take up more projects in future and work together to innovate new ideas. Physics involved in the building of catapult : The velocity

Management, Work and Society People,Management and Business Essay

Management, Work and Society People,Management and Business - Essay Example However, the general trend today, particularly in the UK, is the increasing participation of women in the labour force and their increasing importance in organisations (Bonney 2007). The growing participation of women in the labour market has called forth the connection between the domestic domain and paid employment. There has been growing attention on the work-life balance, according to Charles and Harris (2007), specifically, in making sure that the requirements of paid employment do not negatively affect family life and domestic responsibility, and vice versa. The objective of this essay is to discuss gendered employment in the UK. The discussion will include essential components such as proportion work, horizontal segregation, vertical segregation, Equal Pay, arguments for and against a gendered policy in the UK, etc. This essay will be founded on the assumption that â€Å"management and managing are characteristically gendered in many respects† (Broadbridge & Hearn 2008) . ... The projected segmentation of new batches of members and well-publicised commentaries will contribute to the preservation of the profile (Vosko, MacDonald & Campbell 2009). Majority of organisations in the UK have preferred female managers as their ‘indicator’ jobs to evaluate the influences of their behaviours and to assess progress towards the objectives they have formed (Geyer, Mackintosh & Lehmann 2005). Several member organisations have made use of the programme to refocus or re-introduce their tasks regarding the development of women. Others have made use of it to initiate such processes (Geyer et al. 2005). In all of them, the programme’s focus on involvement of the board, line managers, and HRM managers has implied that women’s welfare is being taken into account, usually for the first time at the utmost degree (Lewis 2009). Almost every member of Opportunity 2000, consisting of those who are condensing personnel, can generate proof of enhanced adap tability, improved accessibility of training and development, and evaluation if not concrete provision of assistance with various types of care (Lewis 2009). Evidence from earlier studies showed that women in the UK had less commitment to work compared to men even in the 1980s (Perrons, Fagan, McDowell, Ray & Ward 2006). Nevertheless, by the 1990s, a significant transformation had occurred in women’s dedication to employment (Crompton et al. 2007). Furthermore, women are spending longer hours at work, even though men are working longer hours than them. Even though the working hours of men have actually dropped to some extent, this has been compensated by an increase in women’s working hours, and as more women enter the

Outline and Analyze the Challenges Facing Mellon Investor Services Essay Example for Free

Outline and Analyze the Challenges Facing Mellon Investor Services Essay Assignment Task Outline and analyze the challenges facing Mellon Investor Services in their organizational redesign and assess how well the company have dealt with those challenges in how they are approaching and managing the change. Delong, T. and Vijayaraghavan, V. (2002) Mellon Investor Services (ECCH case reference 9-402-036, Harvard Business School) Introduction Mellon Investor Services (â€Å"MIS†) is an investment management and investment services company, focused to help clients manage and move their financial assets and succeed in the rapidly changing global marketplace. Between 2000 and 2001 MIS underwent a substantial organizational redesign, which will be critically considered in this essay. Wittington and Mayer (2002) suggest that organizational performance is driven by the company’s ability to redesign structures frequently, however the change requires participation of people leading the change i.e. agents, organizational structure that welcomes the change and appropriate managements styles. The Chief Financial Officer of MIS, Jim Aramanda led the company for few very successful years, during which MIS was providing new offerings for transfer agent services including issue services, employee plans and direct services, broker / dealer services. The company had five years of successful growth and MIS was meeting and exceeding its financial goals. In Autumn of 2002 Aramanda’s became concerned for the successful future of the company and he recognised few areas that required closer attention: †¢different business units were not consolidating their offerings and taking advantage of various products, which resulted in two Requests For Proposal coming from one client whereby both RFPs were replied to separately, as opposed to a combined and unified response, †¢current successful offering of core products did not guarantee that MIS would grow in future, †¢MIS staff were not building long-term relationship with the clients therefore business opportunities may not be spotted in good time, †¢requirement for new measures of performance and progress, †¢lack of focus on hiring and rewarding talented people, †¢lack of focus on product development, which was manifested in product being offered by the sales department without confirmation that the product may actually be delivered to the clients, †¢Some of the groups, such as technology, were too achievement oriented without being focused. In order to address the above concerns and mould the company to his new vision, Aramanda hired a number of experienced consultants to support his structural redesign of MIS. Aramanda realised that the change would also involve a dramatic shift of vision and attitudes to introduce new systems and subsystems, with the likely result of clash of wills. Buchanan Badham (2008) argue that such a change can be successful if it involves one person influencing the organization according to their values, and Aramanda had the clear vision and skills to gather a team of knowledgeable people to fundamentally amend and adjust MIS future capabilities. The change that MIS underwent could be classified as ‘strategic’ or ‘transformational’ (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2010) and it aimed to redefine the boundaries, methods of problem-solving and doing business in the company. Aramanda acted on his vision in a very organized manner, as he instantly hired experienced, independent and talented consultants, Mary Davis and Jeanne DiFrancesco, and empowered them to accurately assess how the change should be conducted whilst keeping disruption of the day-to-day business activities to the minimum, design a four-phase project that was consistent with Aramanda’s aggressive deadlines, and work alongside all business units to manage the organizational change smoothly and efficiently. Although the organizational change instigated by Aramanda and facilitated by the consultants proved a great success, there were certain areas that should have been dealt with differently. The main challenges I have chosen as a topic of this assignment included overall communication, dealing with resistance to change and managing relationships. 1. Communication Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) note that many managers do not pay attention to communication when implementing change, which may increase employee absenteeism, turnover and low productivity. Furthermore, some of the reasons for employees’ increased expectation during the change process are availability of information through the internet as well as employees’ anticipation to contribute ideas and be kept informed. If these expectations are met, employees feel valued and therefore are more likely to be committed to the company and perform better at their work. Aramanda wanted to be supportive of a certain degree of open communication culture, which was manifested by a requirement for the employees to nominate their colleagues for newly created job posts. This approach was also constructed to represent Aramanda’s interests and to manipulate employee attitudes and behaviours. The nomination process aimed to take advantage of knowledge in the network or informal skills that perhaps could have been difficult to be evaluated by an outsider. The outcome however proved to be different than anticipated, as it created a negative feeling amongst the employees. Furthermore, one of the reasons for hiring consultants in the first place was to take advantage of their impartiality and independence from office politics. Insufficient communication was also evident in Phase One of the organizational change, during which key services, products and activities of the business were analysed. The result was anxiousness amongst the employees, who being afraid of job cuts, would feel that they were disregarded and forgotten, which in return lowered their productivity until the process was complete. As outlined by Buchanan and Huczynski (2010), many companies operate within a range of open and closed communication climate. Open and honest communication leads to employees having realistic expectations, and closed and defensive communication creates an atmosphere of distrust and secrecy. Although Aramanda’s relationship with his superiors was commendable, as he had a very open working relationship with the consultants and his direct reports, the communication with his employees was not as successful. One of the reasons for this situation was a lack of Head of Corporate Communications, whose post was vacant until June 2001, therefore all information during the process of a change was not communicated to the staff. Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) confirm that communication of ideas assists employees see the logic and need for change. The implication for MIS was that employees did not understand what was happening, therefore they were more unlikely to follow management decisions. Issues of communication also affected existing relationships with clients. One of the objectives of the organizational change was to evaluate every job function and employee in line with the new business strategy. This resulted in creation of new key groups, including new ‘business development’ team focused on growth and return on investment in new clients and ‘client management’ team whose assignment was growth and return on investment in existing clients. The new groups comprised of employees that had to move away from the relationships they took time and effort to establish with their clients. Before the change these relationships lead to more sales and generated more business through word of mouth. Furthermore, strong relationships improved the internal organization, morale, increased engagement and lead to greater satisfaction at work. By creation of new groups the above relationships were damaged or broken, which could have lead to a possible revenue loss caused by the impact that the organizational change had on the client satisfaction. 2. Resistance to change Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) confirm that change implies a positive experiment and creation of something new as well as a negative confrontation with the unknown through the deconstruction of familiar arrangements. Some of the MIS employees demonstrated unwillingness to accept the proposed changes, as they perceived them as threatening to the individual. The main causes of resistance to change were as follows: †¢Lack of facilitation and support Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) outline facilitation and support as most helpful, where fear and anxiety lie at the heart of resistance. At MIS some of the managers were not supporting their employees in new roles, as people were expected to continue to take care of their old responsibilities, therefore the new responsibilities had to take second priority. They employees were not given sufficient time to adjust to new jobs or recover after demanding period. †¢Low tolerance for change Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) stress that that people differ in their ability to cope with change and uncertainty, which may lead them to oppose even potentially beneficial changes. Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) agree that if the change is significant and the employee’s tolerance for change is low, he might begin to actively oppose the change for reasons he does not consciously understand. †¢Misunderstanding and lack of trust Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) argue that employees are more likely to resist the change if they don’t understand the reasons behind it. As outlined in the section above regarding lack of communication, it becomes transparent that MIS employees were not told what are the positive implications of change, therefore they believed the change might cost them much more than they would gain. This could be characterised by having a low level of trust between employees and managers and result in misunderstandings and increased perception of threat when change was introduced. 3. Networks and relationships Another challenge facing the organizational change of MIS was managing existing relationships and creating new networks. One of aims for the reorganization once MIS services and products and market needs were analysed, was to break down capabilities into building blocks and then to recompose the blocks to fit within the new strategy. In practice this meant changing the divisional structure of the organization from service-based to customer-based. The change from ‘squares’ to ‘squares and triangles’ caused a large power shift and a felling of unrest and injustice to many employees. In the new organization chart the ‘triangles’ comprised of market-facing professionals and were perceived as the ‘winners’. The triangles included new business development, client management, product management development and business management analytics units. A triangle holds its place as a symbol in the mathematics of ideal proportions and in the MIS reorganizational design employees chosen to become a part of new teams were deemed as ‘drivers’ having a superior status. This formal status was closely related to the leadership, generally accepted by the others with a power to influence and control other groups. On the other hand, the ‘squares’ represented all other employees in the company and were perceived as the ‘losers’ and ‘followers’ and deemed to have an inferior status. Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) note that lower status groups have less power and tend to be less influential, therefore employees actively seeking status in order to fulfil their self-esteem may experience personal dissatisfaction. Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) note that this method of implementing organizational change can cause confusion and increase employees’ level of stress. The MIS consultants hoped that by dismantling of social networks, new networks would grow very quickly. The presumption was made that the existing social networks used to compensate for the inefficiencies in the old system, so now they should accelerate the efficiencies of the new system. Some employees viewed this as a positive move, as it allowed transitioning some people to other teams to build communication and continuity based on their prior experiences in other business areas. This however had a more political aspect as many managers when switching roles from ‘triangles’ to ‘squares’ in their self-interest wanted to take the good people with them. In practice, whereby poor communication was also a contributing factor, the new social networks were not created as rapidly as anticipated and had a negative influence on employee engagement and work performance. Another reason for changing the divisional structure of the organization was MIS’ lack of integration. Child (2004) stresses that integration is a vital product of good organization, whereby different activities collectively create value. One of identified reasons for change at MIS was to consolidate their product offering to create more value for the customers. Although it is relatively easy to state the requirement for integration, it is not so straightforward to achieve it. The problem of integration presents itself most noticeably in the relations between functions that are responsible for producing services according to predetermined parameters established within the company, and functions that have to continuously adapt to the external environment. The organization cannot remained viable without this integration. Teams are one of the most commonly used means for achieving integration, however during the implementation of change at MIS these were taken apart under conditions of uncertainty and pressure. One of the signs that the integration needs were not sufficiently met by the new teams was conflict between departments, mainly between ‘triangles’ and ‘squares’. This situation would require ongoing monitoring to ensure that the conflict does not become persistent and threat overall teams’ performance. Summary As outlined above, the main challenges of the organizational change instigated by Aramanda included overall communication, dealing with resistance to change and managing relationships. The organizational change was possible due to a great contribution from the consultants, who appreciated that an organizational change is a complex process to dramatically adjust organization vision, structure and culture in a continuous effort to improve the performance. Reference list 1.Buchanan D., Badham R. (2008) ‘Power, politics and organizational change: Winning the turf game’, p. 9. 2.Buchanan D., Huczynski A.A. (2010) ‘Organizational behaviour’, pp. 329-330, 562-564, 570-573. 3.Child J. (2004) ‘Organization: Contemporary Principles and Practice; Chaper 4: Achieving Integration’, p. 81-82. 4.Kotter J. P., Schlesinger L.A. (1979) ‘Choosing strategies for change’ Harvard Business Review, March – April pp. 108-109. 5.http://www.bnymellon.com/about/index.html, accessed on 18 June 2012.

Macbeth was one of the first plays written during the reign of James I Essay Example for Free

Macbeth was one of the first plays written during the reign of James I Essay Macbeth was one of the first plays written during the reign of James I. Shakespeare intended to honour the King by glorifying Banquo, the legendary founder of the Stuart line. Hence the play also serves as a mirror for magistrates, a dramatization of the theme of kingship. James I strongly believed in the Divine Right of kings. He believed that the lord of the heavens had placed kings to rule over people in the world, thus Kings had a god-given right to rule and treachery was like turning away from God and not only the king. In actually fact, if you went against your own king, you were indeed challenging God. James I had ruled the Scottish Parliament more or less how he liked using the concept of Divine Right but when he came to rule over England, he found the English parliament far less easy to handle, insisting that the king could only rule by its consent. In Macbeth the common theme is based on the natural order of things. Macbeths lawless act destroys all law: it occasions confusion and disorder in the world of men and animals as well as in the heavens above. Everywhere there is upheaval: on the night when the murder is done, chimneys are blown down, lamentations and strange screams of death are heard in the air, and some say the earth was feverous and did shake (2,3,53-59). All this confirms the interdependency of man and nature. The natural elements, following the death of Duncan, are in strange disorder and there is the further recounting of other amazing violations of nature, the unnatural behaviour of animals no longer acting according to their ways. A falcon towering in her pride of place was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed (2,4,13). As you can probably guess the owl is supposed to represent King Duncan, on top of the chain, and mousing owl is supposed to be Macbeth, the person who broke this chain and disordered everything, to the tiniest atom. Macbeth, at the time would have been exceptionally, politically advantageous to James because it would have greatly increased the publics view that James I was Gods so-called Sergeant on earth, and so had the right to do or change whatever he pleased. The easiest way to attack a political rival was to accuse him of treachery and the easiest way to prove his treachery was to link him with one of the proscribed religious groups. In 1605 James dealt with some troublesome rivals by claiming to have detected a Catholic plot to blow up the parliament. In Scotland, even more than in England at the time, political troublemakers were accused of witchcraft and heresy. James himself was an authority on witchcraft and the London edition of his Demonology was published in 1603, the year of his accession to the throne of Great Britain. Certainly most people believed in the existence and power of witches, devils and ghosts and the religiously orthodox stressed that the devil could take many shapes. According to the teaching of the Church, Heaven and Hell were actual places and the central teaching of Christianity was the sinful (fallen) nature of man and the necessity of a sense of guilt to bring the sinner to accept the salvation from sinfulness offered by Christ. The reason of man was not foolproof and the Church urged the faithful to be on their guard against any suggestion of communication with the Devil. In Act I, Scene 3 of Macbeth Baquo expresses similar fears concerning the witches: Were such things here as we do speak about? Or have we eaten on the insane root That takes the reason prisoner? (Lines 82-84) And And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths; Win us with honest trifles, to betrays In deepest consequence (Lines 122-125 At the start of the play there surrounds two conflicting views of the hero, Macbeth. In scene 1, when the audience have already found out that the witches have met in order to meet Macbeth, a big question mark surrounds Macbeth. The audience is forced to ask themselves who is this Macbeth and what business does he have with these foul witches. In scene 2 the audience finds out the true identity of Macbeth. He is indeed a Hero! We learn that a battle between King Duncans army and the rebels is raging nearby. The scene starts of with King Duncan being given the latest news of the rebellion by the sergeant. The sergeant reports, with great enthusiasm, how the battle was at first, in balance. That is until, gallant and brave Macbeth, ignoring all the odds, slashing in and out with his bloody sword reached the traitor Macdowald and with no pity, ripped the traitor from head to toe. After hearing how the battle went, King Duncan has nothing but praise for the heroic deed of Macbeth and announces that Macbeth is to be given the title of Thane of Cawdor and the treacherous Cawdor is to be executed immediately. The battle is given a size and importance that magnify the qualities of Macbeth and our curiosity and anticipation are aroused to meet this might champion so praised by all who have seen him. But our memories still hold the mention of his name by the witches and the finale line of the scene (What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won) reminds us of line 4 in scene 1 (When the battles lost and one) and this connexion is consolidated in Scene 3. Macbeths first words echo the witches so foul is fair a day I have not seen. This suggests Macbeth is already in tune with the way the witches think. Banquo believes that these witches are in league with the devil and thus should not be trusted, Can the devil speak truth? However Macbeth wants to hear more of this strange intelligence, upon this blasted heath you stop our way with such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you. The witches predict two things:- that Macbeth will become the thane of Cawdor, and the king hereafter. They also predict two things for Banquo that he will be lesser than Macbeth, and his children will be the kings after Macbeth. The witches second prediction of Macbeth (All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter) is exactly what Macbeth wants to hear because it is his greatest ambition to be king, the ultimate prize is his for grabs. The soliloquy beginning Two truths are told which shows that the witches second prediction has come true about Mabeth earning the title of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth then begins thinking about the witches third prophecy the greatest is behind and what he needs to do now to become king. It is at this point that he starts to consider murder but he feels very uneasy about the word even though he is renown around Scotland as a ruthless soldier, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs (1,3,134-136). Macbeth is confused but still very ambitious. Macbeth shows signs of having a good heart and good intentions, but he also shows that he has a weak mind that ignores and disobeys what he knows is right. You can straight away see that Macbeth has got a powerful conscious when Lady Macbeth has a torrid time trying to convince him to kill King Duncan. At first he absolutely refuses to do such a horrible deed to such a noble person. He knows in his heart that to kill Duncan is wrong and deceitful. The reader can tell that Macbeth is trying is utmost best to resist the misgivings of his wife. We will proceed no further. He hath honoured me of late, and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon (1,7,31-35). Although he knows that this deed will have profound consequences he allows Lady Macbeth to persuade him into doing what he knows is wrong. Macbeth knows he has chosen the wrong path when he says, Ill go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done; Look ont again, I dare not (2,3,46-48). Therefore Macbeth is disobeying what his own heart is telling him. In fact, Macbeth speaks of the distrust he has for his own heart when he says False face must hide what the false heart doth know. Lady Macbeth persuades her husband to do the murder by telling him that, all he is doing, is fulfilling his own lofty ambition and that surely he is not a coward. If he is a man, he should act like one. The fact that Macbeth is so easily persuaded to kill a man, proves that he must have considered murder before. It is also the sign of a person who has a weak mind and who does not stand up for himself. Lady Macbeth feeds on this weakness. Macbeth is tempted to do evil and Lady Macbeth is the key human agent the one Macbeth trusts and loves- who ensures his temptation is through and complete. Lady Macbeth, when we first encounter her is, dominant, determined, powerful, and even perhaps frightening in the intensity of her uncompromising desire for her husband to ascend the throne. Be it, the price of murder. We understand that Macbeth has his own deep desires, but this seems tame compared with Lady Macbeths unquenchable aspirations (she summons evil itself into her body and soul to unsex her and remove any doubts she might have). Further, we see in her actions, a cool, self-assured person, unlike her husband. When Macbeth falters, she is there and she also has the courage to return the daggers and to faint at the news of King Duncans murder, and so distract any attention from her husband. She plans the details of the murder; she has the future worked out. She is also pre-eminently cunning and shows no fear of the supernatural and death itself. That is why she can say, a little water clears us of this deed (2,2,67), because there is nothing to fear from God and old-fashioned ideas of retribution. She can happily envisage hypocrisy and falsehood. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth fates are inextricably joined, but her role and character support Macbeths destiny. However like Macbeth, Lady Macbeth shows moments of humanity she would have killed Duncan herself only he reminded her of her own father. It is these small details that perhaps indicate that she is not as cold and inhuman as she makes herself to be. It could actual, all be an act just to persuade Macbeth to do the final deed. This of course makes her breakdown seem the more inevitable as she is bound to blame herself in some way for the murder. Ultimately she finds out that water will not wash away the stain of blood. It is then ironic that Macduff on first meeting Lady Macbeth refers to her as gentle lady and one too sensitive to even hear the word murder. By the end of the play she is recognized for what she is, a fiend-like queen (5,6,108). Macbeth, in the final analysis, is too preoccupied with his own role to give support to her. Once he has done his first major murder he needs no help from her to do the others. Macbeth is a man of action: the play proves this in more ways then others. He is a fearless warrior and an important lord who defends his king against treachery. However, ambition is his finale weakness. He allows, first the witches prophesy and then his wifes ambition for him, to undermine his integrity. It is clear that he is not easily won over to evil. His conscience is strong and throws up many objections to his doing the deed. However, he is also too easily influenced in the direction that he secretly desires to go. Once he has decided, he does not deviate, and each step subsequently reaffirms his initial choice. Macbeth, then, is determined, and with this determination turns to a violent and ruthless path, full of chaos. So how does Macbeth a peerless kinsman, develops into King Duncans murderer? Is Macbeths mistake in killing gracious king Duncan, his entire fault? Is he to blame for his own doing or were they any other factors that bade him to do this terrible deed? Is Macbeth still the hero at the end of this play and does he deserve what he gets? For these Questions to be answered we need to look at the fundamental theme of the play, Ambition. Partly because it is the driving force of Macbeths life. Macbeth is a deep sentimental tragedy. Tragedy, in Shakespeare usually concerns a great person, the hero, who through some weakness of his character falls from grace, endures intense sufferings (which fascinate the audience), and who inevitable dies a tragic death. In fact, who must die as a consequence of their weakness. Thus if you look at The Tragedy of Macbeth, we find all these ingredients; and if we consider what is the heros weakness, it must and can only be ambition. Macbeth says this specifically when he is attempting to resist the murder of Duncan: I have no spur.but only/Vaulting ambition which oerleaps itself (1,7,25-7).This acknowledgement comes after he has considered all the good reasons for not murdering Duncan. Only ambition is left to overrule his troubled conscience. Furthermore, whilst the influence of both Lady Macbeth and the witches is strong, their power over Macbeth is only possible because the ambition is already there. Macbeth ,then, is a hero but one who is fatally undermined by his ambition, that are the fabric of the play. Put in another way: it is his ambition that leads Macbeth to murder, treason, hypocrisy, corruption and deepest evil.

Professional Practice Is Adhering To Policies And Procedures Nursing Essay

Professional Practice Is Adhering To Policies And Procedures Nursing Essay Professional practice requires some fundamental foundation of the thought process learned from theory from but not limited to lectures and readings. Professional Practice is adhering to policies and procedures regulating bodies put in place such as competency models that professionals practicing in the healthcare sector must meet, Nurses Council of New Zealand, (2007). This includes having an understanding of self-functioning, cultural safety imperatives, a defined knowledge base being the science of nursing and includes progression and expertise, (Richardson, 2004). Professional caring is about developing a power-sharing relationship; there must be trust between the nurse and the client. The nurse must be respectful of their clients rights and dignity and apply nursing skills as an art. In this assessment I will describe how both professional practice and professional caring have a relationship. The relationship must be synergistic and only work well if you have both professional practice and caring together, in order for synergism to be maintained the nurse needs to be self-aware, merging theory the (Science) and the practice the (Art), (Taylor, 2007). Professional Practice Nurses practice as healthcare team member(s) and abide(s) by rules and regulations set out by governing bodies such as the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, (NZNO) and Nursing Council of New Zealand, (NCNZ). Professional nursing practice in my view relates to healthcare worker(s) whom must be honest, ethical, have high morals and boundaries and follow these same guidelines set by governing bodies. The professional practicing nurse must at all times act in a culturally safe way with their knowledge and understanding of working with different cultures from different ethnic backgrounds, age sexual orientation and gender. NZNO, states culture is not only ethno-specific, but includes the cultures of class, sexual orientation, age and gender. General values, characteristic of ethical systems as a result of European tradition and have been used to develop values nurses practice by and statements to guide that same practice regardless of its setting (NZNO, 1997 p.7). In order for the nurse to practice professionally he or she must have a broad knowledge of the sciences through theory of the human body and health. Values and beliefs should be portrayed to the client to meet their individual needs. Healthcare professionals should be seen to be practicing proactively, advocating for every client in every setting and be approachable. The professional should approach every situation client and patient with individuality and merit, (NCNZ 2007). The professional nurse should be practicing effectively, with an effective client focussed outcome promoting effective wellness plan(s) using their knowledge of problem solving skills. This includes that they are motivated to help others and provide a practice in a confident organised sometimes autonomous seamless way. Benner, Tanner Chesla, (1996) suggests professional nursing practice includes an innovative level of critical thinking validated by an inspired analysing process. Professional practicing nurses use life experience and knowledge from similar situations and circumstances to be able to perceive what sometimes cannot be explained, this requires imagination which does not always require science but an intuition that comes with professional nursing practice experience. A person does not come into the world predefined, but becomes defined in the course of living a life. A person also has an effortless and non-reflective understanding of himself/herself in the world (Heidegger 1962, in Benner Wrubel, 1989, p.41). Professional Caring My understanding of professional caring is a person giving versus a person receiving. It is a relationship in which the person receiving the professional care is as important and has as much say in their wellness plan as the professional carer and the care given incorporates their values, beliefs, culture family and whanau it may include a multi-disciplinary team should other health professionals be involved in their wellness program, (NCNZ, 2005). The skill(s) obtained through extensive education knowledge can be used to care professionally in any clinical setting. Professional caring is a trust formed between client and nurse regardless of their setting. The relationship has a positive impact on the client and their health , (Cowley, 1995). A committed approach is taken to ensure accuracy and promote wellness for the client, Polanyi (1962). The client is entitled to professional treatment that adheres to societal expectations under the statutory code of conduct set by governing bodies which gives the public rights to a minimum standard that is expected from nurses, (NZNO, 2001). Professional caring is a formulation of factors of how professional carers should behave in any healthcare setting. Showing the professional carer has a sound understanding of what is right or wrong, a set of ideals, ideals used or articulated in making the correct judgements. Professional caring is accepting individuality or accepting groups as a whole in any healthcare setting making sound non-judgemental decisions (NZNO, 2001) Professional carers must act ethically and maintain a standard of practice, which is the foundation for adhering to core competences set by the Nurses Council New Zealand. Professional caring is respecting the rights and dignity of the client or patient. Making sure the client or patient is safe at all times but not limited to ensuring the client or patient is comfortable also maintains their freedom to choice. Professional caring is justifying the right to care with the publics trust and confidence, (NCNZ 2008). Relationship between professional Practice and Professional Caring Professional practice and professional caring work side by side. They need each other. Without professional practice professional caring the doing, would not be effective nor have valuable outcomes for a client/patient focused wellness point of view. A healthcare professional needs to use theory in education to be proficient and meet the required outcomes set by governing authoritys guidelines. These outcomes are to be used in the everyday professional healthcare environment regardless of its setting, and regardless of whether we are talking about professional practice or professional caring (Benner 1984). However it is important for the healthcare professional to recognise the difference between the professional practice and professional caring in order to use them simultaneously. This ensures the outcomes are person centred and equate to successful professional practices the science of nursing is adhered to and is provided in a way that professionalism is maintained by the professional caring The art of nursing. Knowledge includes research, scientific enquiry this knowledge is gained from journals, ideals of science, biology, sociology and but not limited to pharmacology Piedmont (1997). Parker (1997) states aesthetic knowledge involves proficient practice and the inspiration to care. Inspiration to care is the drive to care for someone and enable him or her to cope with their illness or disability to enjoy a higher level of wellbeing and value of life. Darbyshire (1994) states caring is also about having empathy towards the persons experience, an understanding into the extent of the persons condition and the lived experience but not limited to pain and illnesses. Polyani (1966) speaks of personal knowledge and how it involves becoming self-aware. It does not stem from literature or theory that it refers simply to the fact we know more than we can say or as Benner and Tanner (1981 p. 8) refer to as the understanding without rationale'. It can be as valid as technical knowledge and carers can be assertive in using as a validation for their actions. Marks-Maran and Rose (1997) states intuition is widely accepted in nursing and has been cited as a vital part of professional clinical nursing practice (Benner and Tanner 1981). Conclusion In this assignment I have discussed professional practice and how practicing is regulated by governing bodies. Professional practice has cultural safety aspects relating to clients. In order to practice nurses need a defined knowledge of science which involves progression and expertise. Professional caring is about developing a power-sharing relationship developing a trust between nurse and client, respecting their rights and dignity including the art of nursing. The relationship between professional practice and professional caring needs a synergistic relationship and only work well if you use both together. The nurse requires the skill of self-awareness merging the theory (Science) and Practice (Art) to enable an effective healthcare environment.

Essay --

Beloved The story in Beloved authored by Toni Morrison was centered on the aftermath experience of the protagonist; Sethe as a slavery escapee. The story which defied chronology was mirrored in flashbacks. The harsh experience of slavery was still patent and the memories of bitter struggles were still haunting the characters. There was an inhibition in the ability to move on. The ruination of identity by slavery and competence of language were two vital themes in the story and would be further analyzed. Ruination of identity by slavery as theme depicted the physiological, mental and spiritual burden of slavery which is inescapable as it continues to haunt the characters like Sethe and Paul D who experienced it. Slavery was accompanied with negativity on the true identity of oneself and this made story have several situations of self-denial and estrangement. For example, Paul D was unsure of whether the wailings and tears of grief, he was feeling were coming from himself or someone else: â€Å"In the boxes the men heard the water rise in the trench and looked out for cottonmouths. They squatted in muddy water, slept above it, peed in it. Paul D thought he was screaming; his mouth was open and there was this loud throat-splitting sound--but it may have been somebody else. Then he thought he was crying. Something was running down his cheeks. He lifted his hands to wipe away the tears and saw dark brown slime†. The slaves received endured inhuman conditions which included being traded as a normal good in exchange for paper money. Paul D always questioned his worth as a human and suffered from inferiority of being insecure of whether or not he was truly a â€Å"man†. Sethe also experienced the cruelty of slavery. She once intrude... ...ry when Paul D and prison inmates from Georgia sang about their past experiences and dream; â€Å"garbling the words so they could not be understood; tricking the words so their syllables yielded up other meanings†. In another case, Stamp Paid saw through the window, two backs and went to see for himself; believing that â€Å"the undecipherable language clamoring around the house was the mumbling of the black and angry dead†. The titling of the story comes down to what is regarded as language misunderstanding. At the burial of her daughter whom killed by her hand, Sethe misunderstood the minister’s address referring to the living as â€Å"Dear beloved† and interpreted it as referencing to the dead. The meaning of words depend heavily the changing interpretation of words: figures of speech rely on the capability of words to connect and disconnect with the definitions of words.

Jamaican Politics, Reggae and Rastafarianism in the 1970’s :: Essays on Politics

Jamaican Politics, Reggae and Rastafarianism in the 1970’s "In the last election Prime Minister X went to Ethiopia and met with the King of Kings and had a conversation with him. He came back to Jamaica and showed the people a Rod, which he said was given to him by the King, Haile Selassie the First, to bring freedom to the Black People of Jamaica. He carried that Rod all around during the campaign. The Rastafarians heard this; the Dreadlocks heard this; and this rod caused him to win a landslide victory for the Party. Well, I and I welcome that, because the former government did nothing for the cause of Africa, Rastas, or no one. As you know, we Rastas do not vote, because you cannot take out a rat and put in a cat, but the Prime Minister came to power talking like a Rastafarian. He started some progressive moves on behalf of the African peoples of this country. But after a while he forgot the Rod; he forgot to talk about Africa; he forgot to talk about the Rastafarians. What we now know, is that if the Prime Minister even wanted to do some thing good for the African peoples of this country, his lieutenants will not allow him to do it. After he came back from Ethiopia he called himself Joshua, the one who was to take us to the Promised Land, but the only freedom we have seen up to now is the word ‘Socialism’. To be honest, he had done better than the other party, for the other Party was so anti-Black that not even Elijah Muhammad could enter Jamaica as a Black man. Today, it is a little better; there is freedom of speech for I and I. As you see, we even got the Marcus Garvey Park to use. Here and there we have seen a little change on the part of the government but not enough to bring the Black masses out of the slums they are in right now."(Barrett 180) This quote, along with numerous other readings, has sparked my interest in the political scene and situation surrounding Jamaica, Rastafarianism and reggae music in the 1970’s. It seems to me, despite the economic shambles of Jamaica and the staunch and deliberate refusal of Rastafarians to participate in "politricks", that politics has had a deep impact on any and every aspect of life in Jamaica.

Hamlet’s Gentle Ophelia Essay -- The Tragedy of Hamlet Essays

Hamlet’s Gentle Ophelia  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare created a gentle little creature in the character of Ophelia in the tragedy Hamlet. Her strange misfortunes, as well as other circumstances, make her life an interesting one to explore in this essay.    Ward and Trent in The Cambridge History of English and American Literature maintain that Ophelia is interesting in herself, aside from her relationship with the hero:    Of Ophelia, and Polonius, and the queen and all the rest, not to mention Hamlet himself (in whose soul it would be absurd to attempt to discover new points here), after this we need not say anything. But it is observable that they are not, as in the case of Coriolanus, interesting merely or mainly for their connection with the hero, but in themselves. (vol.5, pt.1, ch.8, sec.16, no.55)    Helena Faucit (Lady Martin) in On Some of Shakespeare's Female Characters reveals the misunderstood character of Ophelia:    My views of Shakespeare's women have been wont to take their shape in the living portraiture of the stage, and not in words. I have, in imagination, lived their lives from the very beginning to the end; and Ophelia, as I have pictured her to myself, is so unlike what I hear and read about her, and have seen represented on the stage, that I can scarcely hope to make any one think of her as I do. It hurts me to hear her spoken of, as she often is, as a weak creature, wanting in truthfulness, in purpose, in force of character, and only interesting when she loses the little wits she had. And yet who can wonder that a character so delicately outlined, and shaded in with touches so fine, should be often gravely misunderstood? (186)    Ophelia enters the play with her ... ...s 6.1 (May, 2000): 2.1-24 .    Pennington, Michael. â€Å"Ophelia: Madness Her Only Safe Haven.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of â€Å"Hamlet†: A User’s Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.    Pitt, Angela. â€Å"Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos.    Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html      

Macro Systems Paper Essay

Macro Systems are the division of the broad practices of Social Work. The divisions of social work are often divided into three practices which include the categories of macro, mezzo, and micro. Often commended as being a system which provides intervention services that affect entire communities and their systems of care and concern, Macro level social work has been known to be highly effective. Responsibility of the Human Service Worker in the Macro Environment Because Macro System focuses on large groups, socials workers who use this practice most often work in efforts to help clients more so on a community level rather than individually. Lobbying to change health care laws, organizing state-wide activist groups or being activist for social policy change have often become battles of social workers who see the needs of their clients who are not in a position to initiate the necessary changes. Social Workers ultimate responsibility in the macro system environment is to be the voice of the people to which they provide their services. It is also left up to human service workers to collaborate with those people who are the over seers of the services that they distribute to make certain that the services provided meet the needs of the people. Personal, Interpersonal, and Political Empowerment Empowerment is essential in the Macro system environment. Personal  empowerment is centered on the individual and is the functionality of having an influence on events which are personified in the ideology of the person. Interpersonal Empowerment is proportioned by the successful interaction with others and the level of concern that we place on the regards other people have for us. This level of empowerment is based on social status, class, gender and sex and refers to a person’s ability of influence others. Political empowerment is the process of allocating resources, and stresses the goals of social change as well as social actions. Political empowerment is very interactive with society but still makes room for a person to maintain his or her individuality Individual Involvement in Multiple Social Systems An individual’s involvement in multiple social systems is very common. In the micro system the focus is based on individual personal interaction. In the micro system an individual may discover that he or she needs counseling and may seek one on one professional help. The mezzo system includes communities, institutions, or small structures such as neighborhoods. This system is a derivative of such organizations as self-help groups or community advocacy programs. Taking on an active role in the mezzo and micro systems as well, the macro system addresses issues in these systems as well. The macro system affects systems and communities. In the macro system individuals are actively involved in creating change in social programs such as health care. Macro Systems in Response to Child Maltreatment, Sexual Abuse, Crime, and Delinquency Child maltreatment, sexual abuse, crime, and delinquency are key factors in the mere existence of the social work program. In the macro system child maltreat takes precedence over all else and because of strict guidelines of care and concern in reference to children, the macro system provides several outlets to report abuse or suspected abuse of children as well as vulnerable adults. In response to Sexual Abuse in the macro systems have come up with medical procedures to detect sexual abuse in some cases and certain laws such as PREA (Prison, Rape, and Elimination Act) were established to protect individuals in prison communities from enduring sexual abuse. Crime and Delinquency which often go hand in hand are  addressed on different levels. In the macro system, children who are delinquent are often placed in juvenile corrections in an effort to rehabilitate. Boots Camps such as the Mississippi Challenge Academy at Camp Shelby which was established in 1993. This program was considered a second chance for juvenile delinquents. In the macro system there is no clear cut or precise course of actions because every case is different. The level of response is totally dependent upon the mitigating circumstance surrounding the event. Functionalism and Interactionist Theory Relative to Poverty â€Å"A functionalist framework is used to synthesize well-known ideas about societal integration and, conversely, disintegration. If the underlying Darwinian metaphor in functional analysis is retained, and supplemented by dialectical metaphors, then functional theorizing can insightfully address the forces of societal disintegration. (Turner, Johnathan H. A macro-level functional theory of societal disintegration. The International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy. (1996): P36)†. In regards to the functionalism theory applied to poverty in the macro system it exemplifies that there is a place for poverty in society. Impoverished people and their needs are essential to social workers as well as service providers who distribute or allocate resources those who need them. â€Å"Many social workers have made use of symbolic interactionism as a microsociological underpinning for work with individuals, couples, families and groups. The profession has less often applied interactionist thought to work with larger social systems. Queralt (1996), however, in her text on human behavior and the social environment, gave importance to the community theorizing of Robert Park, a Chicago School sociologist who taught many symbolic interactionists. In addition, she discussed Park’s application of concepts like the â€Å"web of life,† succession, and competition to community processes and judged these as forerunners of the modern social work ecological model. (Breakwell, G. M. (1982). The holly and the ivy: Social psychology and social work. In P. Stringer (Ed.), Confronting social issues: Applications of social psychology, Vol. 1 (pp. 204-223). London: Academic Press.) In total contrast to the functionalist theory, the interactionist theory concludes that people are poor because of situations or circumstance occurring in life  which was by far beyond their control. In the essence of poverty the functionalist believe that there is a place for poor people in society and that it’s necessary to have poor people and the interactionist basically believes that no one should be poor. Conclusion In conclusion the macro system is a major component of social work. Unlike the micro a mezzo systems, the macro system focus on larger entities of society which include schools, neighborhoods, or communities. I most favor the macro system because it’s much easier to determine your effectiveness as a social worker. It’s great to be able to help individuals but in the macro systems, the social worker serves as the voice of the people and often cause or create change in policies, allocations of resources, and brainstorming new ideas to improve those resources already in place. References Breakwell, G. M. (1982). The holly and the ivy: Social psychology and social work. In P. Stringer (Ed.), Confronting social issues: Applications of social psychology, Vol. 1 (pp. 204-223). London: Academic Press. Konopka, G. (1972). Social group work: A helping process. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Turner, Johnathan H. A macro-level functional theory of societal disintegration. The International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy. (1996): P36)†

Federal Employees and USERRA

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) regularly fields inquiries regarding the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) from service members employed by the Federal Government and from the Federal Government about a service member employee. A vast majority of these questions relate to the application of certain USERRA requirements at the Federal workplace. To add to the complexity of USERRA’s application in the Federal workplace, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulation provides additional, non-USERRA required benefits to service member employees when performing certain types of military service. Discussion: Primarily six (concerns/issues) are regularly raised by service member employees and federal government employers regarding USERRA. ESGR does not have the full view associated with USERRA claims because service members have multiple redress avenues for their USERRA issues or concerns. However, ESGR believes that targeted education and training focused on the six areas below will greatly reduce USERRA cases in the federal government by service member employees. Mandatory USERRA training that specifically includes OPM’s military leave benefits, monitored and tracked similar to the Information Assurance or government Ethics, or Sexual Harassment training would reduce federal USERRA cases. Frequent Concerns of Service member employees and Federal employer: Issue 1: Service members feel that they are not properly reinstated to the appropriate position upon completion of military service * Federal agencies fail to reinstate returning service member due to position being filled or position being cut * Service members are not considered for promotional opportunities, miss interviews, face closed application periods upon return from military service * Recommended training focus: 20 CFR 1002. 191-199 and 5 CRF 353. 207 to understand reinstatement position requirements * 20 CFR 1002. 193 (b) and 5 CFR 353. 106 (c) regarding promotional opportunities Issue 2: Request for orders with service member’s name/documentation to prove attendance in advance of service or following service lasting less than 30 days * USERRA does not require documentation to perform service in a leave without pay status * This issue relates to OPM’s paid military leave benefit. In order to receive paid leave, the agency must have documentation of service and the service must be for the purpose of active duty or active duty training * Service members do not always receive documentation in advance, or have been advised that documentation cannot be required from an employer in advance of service by law * Employers assume that since documentation is required to receive paid military leave, it should be required at all times for consistency * Recommended training focus: * Highlight 20 CFR 1002. 85, 1002. 121-123 Coordinate with OPM regarding paid time off and requirements to take advantage of benefit * Understand LWOP and LWOP US requirements and that penalty cannot come to SM with advanced verbal/written notice in any format Issue 3: Service members feel discriminated against due to past, present or future military service * Service members report that with knowledge of upcoming service, they are harassed, denied opportunities (i. e. training, consideration for advancement), and treated differently from their peers * Federal agencies must instill in managers and supervisors that discrimination is unlawful * Recommended training focus: 20 CFR 1002. 18-23 and 353. 202 defining anti-discrimination under USERRA Issue 4: Both service members and federal employer have questions about what is / is not exempt from five year service limit * Most but not all orders will indicate exemptions from the five year service limit * Much of service performed in the last ten years in support of the Global War on Terror is considered exempt service * Service members are not aware that retirement from military service can disqualify service member from reinstatement due to â€Å"career status† with military * Recommended training focus: 20 CFR 1002. 99-103 and Secretary memos * Educate SM regarding â€Å"career service† retirements and the potential issues when returning to work Issue 5: Federal Employers misunderstand timelines to report back to work * Federal employers have stated confusion regarding ‘application’ for reemployment as defined by law. Since he service member was never separated, some agencies feel that the member does not need additional time to reapply * Concerned agencies wonder what status the service member should be held in during this time * Both Federal employers and the service m embers have confusion about the relation of their return to work date and the five days paid administrative leave for contingency operations. * Recommended training focus: * 20 CFR 1002. 115-1002. 119 and 5 CFR 353. 05 to understand the definitions of ‘application’ and ‘reemployment’ * Coordinate with OPM regarding status to determine if the service member maintain LWOP-US status until returned to work * Coordinate with OPM regarding five days of leave administrative leave and it’s coordination with return to work dates Issue 6: Health benefits are not properly stopped, restarted with military service absences * Federal employers will continue health benefits when performing certain contingency missions, but sometimes fail to terminate benefits without affirmative action from the service member * Reinstatement of benefits can be delayed Suspension of and reinstatement of vision / dental FEBH benefits must be done separately from health benefits, but are still covered by the law. * Recommended training focus: * 20 CFR 1002. 163-171 pertaining to stopping/starting benefits * Coordination with OPM regarding what type of orders are eligible for continuation of benefits

Greek and Chinese ways of life Essay

Throughout the course of history, civilizations have been developing all over the globe. Some of these civilizations have shared several goals, experiences, and problems. Two particularly noteworthy civilizations are those of Greece and China. Greece had many city-states within in it. Two major Greek city-states were Sparta and Athens. Despite belonging to Greece, these city-states were unique culturally, politically, and socially. The Han Dynasty in China is another civilization that was unique in terms of its cultural, political, and social development. Greek and Chinese civilizations have several similar and different aspects that have been the reason for their goals, experiences, and problems in life, but they both have also been unique culturally, politically, and socially. Athens, one of the most powerful city-states in Greece, had three major goals defined by its ruler, Pericles. His three major goals were to protect Athens, beautify it, and to make the Democracy stronger. In order for Pericles to strengthen the democracy he needed to increase the number of paid public officials. Read more: Constitution mini q answer key essay Before, only the wealthy could afford to hold public office, but by increasing the number of paid public officials it allowed even the poor to engage in self-government. Pericles believed that the Athenian constitution should be in the power of the people and by establishing a direct Democracy; he was able to enforce this in Athens. One way Pericles attempted to protect Athens was by using the money from the treasury of the Delian League to build Athens the strongest fleet of ships in the Mediterranean. The Delian League was an alliance of ancient Greek city-states, which were dominated by Athens. This was important in protecting Athens since it was surrounded by water. If they could control access to their surrounding waterways then they could decrease their chances of invasion. Athens is located right next to the Mediterranean Sea, which enabled them to develop their strong navy force for military use. This was only one way Pericles strengthened Athens; he also found a way to make Athens gloriously beautiful. Pericles beautified Athens by using money from the Empire to buy gold, ivory, and marble. He did this because those materials were expensive assets and helped make Athens a wealthier and powerful city-state. All these goals that Athens developed over time, helped protect it, beautify it and make it the strongest city-state of all time. Despite Athens’ prosperity, this city-state experienced many obstacles that ultimately stripped it of its dominance within Ancient Greece. Power shifted from Athens to Sparta during the Peloponnesian War. Sparta was focused primarily on militaristic endeavors while Athens celebrated peace, intellectual development, art, and beauty. Sparta had an inarguable advantage since all male citizens spent their lives training to become strong soldiers, and all women were responsible for being strong enough to bear more soldiers. Sparta’s attacks were most effective when fighting on land so Athens did have an advantage since it was surrounded by bodies of water and had the strongest navy in all of Greece. Under Pericles, Athens’ plan was to avoid land battle with the strong Spartan Army, so they waited for the right time to strike from the sea. Years passed and eventually Athens fell to Sparta’s strong military tactics. After Sparta won the war, it was then the strongest city-state in ancient Greece. Athens’ downfall shifting power in favor of Sparta was important because it reshaped the Ancient Greek World. These developments made Sparta the strongest city-state in all of Greece. Athens also had major economic inequalities which shaped their way of life. Athenian farmers often found themselves sold into slavery when they were unable to repay the loans they had borrowed from their neighbors. This forced them to pledge themselves as collateral. Years passed and the Athenian farmers asked their lenders to cancel the debts and to give them land. The lenders were not so keen on this idea, which led to a civil war within Athens between the farmers and the lenders. This civil war within Athens, gave Sparta the right time to strike. Once Sparta attacked, it was all over because Athens was not prepared to strike back. The war within made Athens weaker, giving Sparta the advantage it needed to win the Peloponnesian War. This civil war helped shape Athens’ future by distracting it from external concerns thus giving Sparta the chance to attack and ultimately win the Peloponnesian War. Sparta was a city-state within Greece that also had many goals, experiences and problems. One of Sparta’s main goals was to create an invincible force. They made their army an invincible force by training their warriors from a young age to become the men Sparta needed to fight Sparta’s wars. This allowed for the expansion of Sparta’s military power. One example of their military power was their victory in the Peloponnesian war. Sparta had strong military tactics, which helped them overcome the mighty city-state Athens. Athens was considered most powerful because of its prosperity, wealth, and strong navy fleet, but Sparta won the war due to their military power on land and the civil war which weakened Athens. The war changed the dynamic power between the two city-states, which caused a great deal of unique changes in these two city-states, and thus, all of Ancient Greece. The Han Dynasty within the Chinese civilization was another civilization that had many goals, experiences, and problems. One of the Han Dynasty’s main goals was the unification of China. The Han dynasty was able to unify China by incorporating principles of Confucian thought into social structure, laws, and spiritual beliefs. The incorporation of Confucianism helped to strengthen the economy, reconstruct the royal palace, and also allowed for the rise of aristocratic families. Confucianism brought the idea that people are born with a potential for morality. The Han incorporated this idea into their state policy, believing that rulers must support it. This caused the Han period to see a great reduction in harsh laws and punishments, and a turn to rule by merit doctrine, which is rule under one leader. The Han Dynasty’s unification transformed Chinese civilization in many ways leading to its cultural, political, and social uniqueness. The Han dynasty experienced great military expansion throughout its reign. Its powerful military forces were able to expand the kingdom all the way to Vietnam and Korea. Chinese culture, ways of life, schools of thought, and religion were spread to all of these conquered lands. This was a major accomplishment for the Han dynasty because it changed the world in more ways than anyone could suspect. Most of all, it made the Han Dynasty bigger and stronger, thus more capable of making even more influential changes. This expansion led to increase trade, which brought about the Silk Road, a massive network of trade routes which connected the East to other parts of the world. The Chinese used the Silk Road to trade mostly silk, copper, and iron; however this trade route grew to also support the exchange of many other objects such as spices, weapons, textiles, and more. The improved trading network and military expansion allowed the Chinese civilization to prosper as a nation, and to develop culturally, politically, and socially under no one’s terms but their own. Athens and Sparta were city-states within Greece, but they both had different forms of government. Athens’ government occasionally used tyrannical methods, but mainly followed a democratic model of government. The Spartans did not approve of tyranny so they produced a different form of government in order to avoid it. The Spartans’ form of government was called an Oligarchy. Oligarchic government is made up of four parts: the kingship which is unique in that there are two kings, the Gerousia (the council of elders), the Ephorate, and the assembly. These two forms of government helped these respective city-states within Greece to become some of the strongest nations in the world. Unlike Greece, China was a feudal state. The Han Dynasty was a heavily centralized state, much like that of Sparta. The Hans did not follow Athens’ form of democracy, which made them different from each other. Under the Han rulers, the doctrines of Confucianism were revived and followed. Under Confucian teachings, the ruler and the subject should have mutual respect for each other, the people and the ruler should both exhibit good behavior, and the ruler should be an example for the rest of the people. Everyone was expected to respect the ruler, even if he was a bad leader. Legalism was another governmental ideal that was spread throughout the Han Dynasty. Legalism stated that humans were naturally evil and required discipline and restraint by the government. Throughout the Han dynasty, these two forces influenced the government. Confucian teachings and Legalism shaped the Han dynasty’s goals, experiences, and problems which contributed to make them the nation they have become. Many differences between Athens and the Han Dynasty have caused them to become the nations as we know them today. One of the most influential differences between the two was the type of government they used within their civilizations. Athens had a democracy, whereas the Han Dynasty had a monarchical form of government. The difference between a democracy and a monarchy is that a monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is given to an individual, who is the head of the state. The individual who heads a monarchy is called a monarch. Monarchies were the most common form of government in the world during ancient and medieval times. On the other hand in a democratic form of government the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system. These two forms of governments were prevalent in civilizations all over the globe. Many civilizations have prospered from these forms of governments, and most are still being used today. Another major difference between Athens and the Han Dynasty was that Athens was a small region of Greece whereas the Han Dynasty occupied a much bigger area all over China and was actively working to spread its kingdom. The amount of area a civilization conquered or owned helped determine if it was a strong civilization or a weak one. Athens despite being a small civilization in comparison with the Han Dynasty was still quite strong. Athens won its fair share of wars and battles, just like the Han Dynasty. One reason why Athens was a small civilization in compared to the Han Dynasty was because Athens was a city-state that was part of a greater empire, whereas the Han Dynasty was a great empire itself, making it stronger than Athens. Another difference between Athens and the Han Dynasty was that the Athenians were pagans, whereas the Han Chinese believed in Confucianism and Daoism. All these differences between the Han Dynasty and Athens have shaped the goals, experiences and problems for both civilizations in many ways. Within the Han society there were numerous agricultural inventions that helped to boost productivity throughout the dynasty. Among these were pulleys, and ox collars to enable the oxen to pull plows without choking. Another agricultural invention that increased productivity was winding gears which helped with mining. This differed from the Greek model in that the Greeks didn’t really contribute much to increase agricultural productivity. The Greeks believed that no new methods were needed because there were enough slaves to do the work. Productivity was one way in which the Greeks fell short of China’s standards. Without agricultural inventions the Han Dynasty would not have been nearly as prosperous since these inventions helped shape their way of life and boosted their economy. One major similarity between the Greece civilizations and the Chinese civilization was that their social inequalities and weaknesses of the lower classes of society brought them to their decline. In Greece, the soil conditions were not ideal for the growth of grain, but grain was an extremely important part of Greek life. Farmers turned to olives and grapes which were very well adapted to the soil’s conditions, but were high in terms of maintenance. Also, grape vines and olive trees did not produce fruits for at least five years after planting; however, farmers still had to pay money to take care of the land, while getting nothing in return. As a result, the majority of the Greek farmers went into debt. Once in debt, they were very often mistreated by their landlords, who forced them to become laborers or slaves. The Greeks let their slaves do all the work, so there was little need for inventions that could increase productivity. Weakness within Athens and other city-states caused them to fight for each other’s lands incessantly. Constant fighting between the city-states was the greatest weakness Ancient Greece faced. These problems within the Greek world shaped their ways of life in ways comparable and contrastive to the Chinese world. Within China, a weakness of the Han Dynasty was that the empire was debilitating gigantic. Near the center of the empire, government power was strong. However, as one moved outward toward the borders, government authority gradually declined due to lack of central government oversight. As time progressed, the once effective administration from the Han rulers became corrupt. For example, landlords would lie on their land taxes, so they could make a greater profit. Like Greece, the Chinese landlords would often double tax their already poor peasants, which eventually damaged the economy. When court officials tried to strip the corrupt landlords of their lands, they faced enormous resistance and were unable to change anything. Another weakness which contributed to the downfall of the Han Dynasty, like the Greeks, was internal fighting. The Confucian scholar gentry turned against the corrupt officials, while the officials struggled for power with everyone else. As all of this was occurring the lives of peasants continued to worsen. Eventually, the landholding elite held all the power in the country, and the policies of the emperor favored them. Then, Taoist ideals began to spread among the peasantry. Peasants across the country revolted in many instances, such as the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which ultimately led to the fall of the Han Empire. After the fall of the Han dynasty’s central government, power went to three warlords, officially beginning the Period of the Three Kingdoms. In the end, one can see that Greek and Chinese civilizations, though they have their similarities, have each evolved uniquely in terms of culture, political systems, and social norms and structure. Also, within these great civilizations the many differences and similarities within them have shaped their goals, experiences, and problems differently. Whether it is the form of government a nation follows, religious views, or societal beliefs, all of these factors bear influence on the civilization’s direction in the end. Works Cited Fleck, Robert. â€Å"The Origins of Democracy: A Model with Application to Ancient Greece. † Journal of Law and Economics 49 (2006). Print. Holliday, A. J. â€Å"Sparta’s Role in the First Peloponnesian War. † The Journal of Hellenic Studies 97 (1977): 54-63. Print. Homer, and Robert Fagles. The Odyssey. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print. Nylan, Michael. â€Å"Han Classicists Writing in Dialogue about Their OwnTradition. â€Å"Philosophy East and West 47. 2 (1997): 133-88. Print.